The Religion of Armenia

Christian preachers, in the face of the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and their pupils, came and preached the new doctrine.

Armenian Apostolic Church

In Armenia Christianity was adopted as a state religion in 301 AD (as the state religion, Armenia was the first in the world to adopt Christianity) when Gregory Parthev, accompanied by 16 princes sent Kesariya and crowned as Armenian Catholicos. Grigory was called Illuminator, because he brought the light of Christianity to Armenia. Christianity began to spread throughout the country very soon. Almost all Pagan temples were destroyed, and Christian churches were built in their places.

Undeniable is the role of the church in Armenian history. After loosing independence, Armenian Church took upon itself the burden of preservation and development of culture and lead a lot of liberation movements. For centuries, the church teach people in the spirit of patriotism and national consciousness.

Armenian church called Apostolic, because the founders of Christianity in Armenia were Jesus apostles, so that after proclaiming Christianity as a state religion, church was called apostolic.

90% of Armenia's population is now followers of Armenian Apostolic Church.